Secretary General of the UN and British Government minister sends messages of support to University mock UN event

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Lord Malloch-Brown, former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN and government minister for the UN said: "I am delighted to take this opportunity to send a message to all those participating in the UN project in the Department of Political, International and Policy Studies at the University of Surrey. The British Government has been a strong and committed supporter of the UN since its creation sixty years ago. The UN plays a critical role in moving us towards our goal of a stable and prosperous world. It remains the only global organisation able to tackle the many challenges that we face today: such as climate change, terrorism, HIV/AIDS and conflict. I wish you all the best for the UN events you have planned at the University."

The mock UN meeting is the culmination of the ‘UN at University of Surrey’ project, which is comprised of a number of events at the students’ colleges. The project has boosted students’ confidence giving them key skills that will prepare them for the day, and for work and life, such as negotiating, compromising, consensus building and persuading. Students have learnt about politics, the UN and how they affect their lives.

Onyi a student from Croydon College who participated in the project last year said: "I liked everything about the activities in college – they were so much fun. I particularly enjoyed the persuasion exercises, the debates and preparing a resolution which I had never done before. It helped my debating skills; it gave me confidence to speak out and express my opinion, as some times I can be timid. I applied for an intern job in a law firm during the holidays. They were very impressed by my participation in the project and gave me the job. It was worth all the research."

Students will take on the role of a country which they must negotiate and debate for, where they will use their skills to come up with solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems, while building consensus and persuading countries to come to an agreement. Participants will have to come up with, and pass, a UN resolution on some of the most pressing matters facing the world on human rights, nuclear weapons and global warming.

Ben Miller, the project’s Outreach Officer, said: "This project has brought the relevance and importance of international political issues to life for the students in an engaging and informative manner. Students will come away empowered by the project as they’ll be exposed to challenging situations and will be equipped with relevant skills to help them in their lives."

Marek a student at Kingston College said: "The UN project created a unique scenario in which classmates were able to discuss and form interesting ideas and concepts together. It encouraged teamwork as well as self-confidence to get to a final solution to the problem."

The aim of this ‘UN at University of Surrey’ project is to encourage students to continue their studies and increase their aspirations in life. Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon said: "I am delighted to write to you since taking office as Secretary-General. I feel a particular connection with young people like you, for when I was a young student, the United Nations inspired me in a fundamental way. To succeed as Secretary-General, I will need to work in partnership with every one of our Member States, whatever the size of its population or its pocketbook. That is where I need your support. You can build a better understanding of our United Nations - what it is, what it does, and hat it can do.  In that spirit, I thank all of you for your commitment, and wish you a most stimulating meeting."

Media Enquiries

Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk